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Notes / Commercial Description:
First brewed in England, these potent, malty monsters were frequently aged before being put into small bottles and sold as strong beers or even medicinal tonics. The American version has been blown up with more alcohol, larger bottles and more hops.

Smuttynose Barleywine straddles these two branches of the barleywine tree. When you taste it, you’ll notice deep, rich caramel malt flavors, balanced with hop bitterness. Fruity hop flavors act as a garnish for its amped-up but classic flavor. For a more refined experience, tuck a few bottles away for a year or two. The alcohol will mellow and the hop aromas will fade into the background, leaving the luscious malt to shine on its own.

Pours a deep mahogany color with no head, no lacing, very little carbonation, it's hazy. Lots of malt on the aroma, caramel and toffee, red licorice, no hop aromas, I didn't expect any after nearly five years in the bottle. Taste follows the nose with lots of malts like caramel and toffee, big red licorice notes that add some sweetness in the finish, alcohol has mellowed out, slight citrus peel like bitterness in the middle, finish is sweet with lingering notes of red licorice and malts. Full bodied with very little carbonation, slightly dry finish, slight sticky mouthfeel.

With five years on it all the hop presence is gone and nothing is left but malt and red licorice. I would like to try a fresh bottle but this is the first time I've seen this in my area and it's nearly five years old. I'm sure this has another layer of flavor with some hop bite.

Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass. Bottle conditioned 2013. Big time here…

Rich creamy foam, frothing up slow on a good center controlled punching pour out of the bottle. An almost khaki but slightly picking up the orange body color and making a sort of pink to plum like orange hue of sorts. Thick creamy top, leopard like lacing on the glass. Body color is a real nice orange amber, but still has a bit of rusty and dull tone to it. Very impressive looking brew.

Palate is a real nice piece of work. Mouthfeel is still a washing and rich quality, but seems to have peaked quite some time ago. Rich tasting hop earth and soft green herbs on the mid palate. Silky light toffee mixing with an almost creamy ash flavor and muted brown sugar. Light tasting, but with large amounts of hop punch even at this stage.

What a fun neat beer. Some things seem to have lost quality while others might have even gained. Either way it's a great tasting barleywine even at this stage of the game.

2013 bottle. This was poured into a snifter. The appearance was a rugged burnt dark orange/muddy brown color. A finger’s worth of white foamy head sat atop of the beer for a good minute. Gentle messy lace. The aroma brings forth sweet and bitter grassy and tobacco leafy hops. Bold and up front, oddly enough, I thought those would have died off given the bottle date. Semi-sweet caramel and toffee malts play with the balance. Citrus hops seem to underscore the aroma. The flavor balances nicely between the hops and the malts. Tobacco leafiness still holds quite strong. Grassy to tobacco leafy to smooth caramel malty aftertaste rubbing against the finish nicely. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a nice sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine, fairly mild (but it’s an old bottle, so I’m okay with that). Overall, this one aged phenomenally. Only the citrusy hops have died off. Wouldn’t mind trying to get this again to try fresh.

Poured 22 oz bottle into chalice. Vintage 2013. A rusty color with a 1.5 finger dirty white head. Decent retention that slowly fades into a collar and leaves spotty lacing on the glass. Thick caramel and toffee make up the sweetness. Dark fruits with a nice earthy, piney aroma from the hops. Two years later this still has a bitterness to it along with some alcohol. It is pleasant because of the caramel and toffee mixed with some dark fruit. Hints of citrus and pine make up a bitter finish. Medium body with soft carbonation. A bit warming. Well done BW that reminds me of a favorite from Central Waters that is no longer made.

S: An opaque tawny, brown body sits below a quick-rising khaki head. After a minute or so, the head dies down, sitting tight and sudsy. I’ve not even had a sip, and there’s lacing on the glass, medium bands of beauty.

A: This big beer boasts fig, caramel and pine in the initial aroma. Further inhalation provides sweet malt and certain fusel booziness. It smells characteristic of an American Barleywine.

T: The taste mimics much of the aroma, adding a bit of earthy, spicy hop signature. The malt sired toasted brown bread and caramel. When on the cold side, the alcohol is masked. When warm, it’s easier to detect. Bitterness helps balance out the sweetness.

O: In addition to being a favorite style, I also appreciate that this example produced by a respected American brewer bridges the gap between treacle-sweet English BWs and hop-bomb, abrasive US versions (fresh Bigfoot comes to mind). Thus one hits all the marks- hoppy, boozy (in a good way- not hot and solventy), nice initial sweetness. A fine example of the style.